TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — At Los Amigos Tech Academy, the sidewalks in the neighborhood will soon be filled with hundreds of students walking or biking to school. It's apart of the Safe Routes to School program where teachers and students meet in certain stops in the neighborhood and walk to school together.
Safe Routes to School program coordinator Jessica Estrada said this not only helps the kids get to school safely, but it helps lessen traffic and grow community.
"A lof the time kids live close to the school and still get driven so there is a big need to show that this is possible and show parents that walking or biking to school is a doable thing," she said.
At Los Amigos Tech Academy, the students and teachers walk together once a week. Jennifer Flores, the teacher librarian at Los Amigos Tech Academy, walks with the kids every Wednesday.
"The kids are big fans of this and they are really excited about collecting the little foot and a sticker and we have competitions with the different grade levels," she said.
The Los Amigos teachers are dropped off at stops along the neighborhood almost an hour before school starts with the farthest stop being 1.5 miles away.
"I mean it’s 40 minutes of walking for the teachers and the kids," Flores said. "The teachers will walk all the way down that street to collect kids at their bus stop.”
She said with the lack of crosswalks and speeding cars, this program has sparked some change within the surrounding community.
"Our infrastructure in this side of town is not safe for kids to walk to school," she said. "Since we started the program the neighborhood has hired people dedicated to keeping the sidewalk clear.”
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